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Baldassi: “Irmatov was replaced by Eriksson”

Former World Cup 2010 referee Hector Baldassi (photo), currently a member of the Argentinian Parliament, twitted that FIFA initially appointed Ravshan Irmatov (UZB) for the round of 16 match Argentina – Switzerland and then he was replaced by Jonas Eriksson (SWE).

“For our match Argentina - Switzerland, on Tuesday, Blatter and Busacca appointed the Uzbek referee Irmatov. Argentina opposed. Then FIFA appointed a referee from Sweden. Very rare! A referee from UEFA is appointed to referee a match where one of the teams is from the same confederation (Europe). I do not doubt the skills and the professionalism of the Swedish referee, but I cannot understand why FIFA did not pay attention to such details. I am wondering where the Argentinian representative in the FIFA Referees Committee was when this decision was made? For those who do not remember, Irmatov refereed our match Argentina – Germany at the previous World Cup (2010) in South Africa.”